S FLORIDA: The Bulls took a huge leap defensively under head coach Charlie Strong, which is a result that he never really achieved during his tenure at Texas. USF should continue to defend at a high level this year, as the team returns enough playmakers and faces a Charmin-soft schedule. But replacing quarterback Quinton Flowers isn't going to be easy. He was a monumental part of USF's offense throughout his career, but the good news is that the Bulls have a lot of talent in their receiving corps. They can give UCF a run for their money if everything breaks right.

ILLINOIS: It's probably safe to say that head coach Lovie Smith is on the hot seat this season'the 2005 AP NFL Coach of the Year is a miserable 5-19 in his career with Illinois. This offense averaged a Power Five-worst 15.4 points per game last season and, in limited playing time last year, soon-to-be starting quarterback Cam Thomas completed just 42.4 percent of his passes for 375 yards, zero touchdowns and five interceptions. That's not promising, but the hope is that a new spread attack will bring out the best in him. On defense, the Illini return seven starters from a unit that couldn't stop anybody. It's likely that opposing offenses will be looking forward to playing them once again. '